QUESTIONING MR. WRIGHT

The detective already had a half-idea of what could be going on with this little mystery; still, it would only be good to hear from the accused – he wanted to test Miss Camden's resolve to help the case run smoothly as well. As soon as he opened the door again, any shame he might have felt about leaving her in such a situation dissolved: she was continuing the conversation with the policemen, showing no signs of strain while doing it. She was either a saint or an amazing actress; in any case, thirty percent was not enough compensation for such dirty work.

"Mr. Wright," he called, sustaining the dejected countenance of the man in front of him. It was hard to believe that someone could fake such a genuine looking feeling so well – it was possible, he had seen it with his own eyes in the past, just not common. In this instance, very improbable, although there was always a morbid voice in his head hoping for a more intricate and exciting explanation. "When was the last time you saw Timmy?"

"Yesterday, although you've been told countless times at this point, I imagine. I wanted to bid him goodbye after a long visit, and he started yelling for no apparent reason... to be fair to the child, detective, he's had a troubled life at a very young age... that's what I assumed was the cause, at the time, either that or he had been having a bad day. Besides, I can only imagine how difficult it must be having a stranger in his house, a man of all kinds of people, looking at the terrible experiences he went through."

"Haven't you been visiting the house for some time now? You're hardly a stranger."

He shook his head. "It's nothing, even in the small length of his life. I was ready to be patient for him, for her..." his voice faltered. "Patience is not enough. I should have realized something was off. Maybe that was a cry for help that I would have caught if not for my adult pride. I am, unfortunately, less than a stranger in his life."

Alderton sighed. "Mr. Wright, look at me," he said, and waited for the man to do so. "I do not think you were involved in the disappearance, or that you caused this in any way. What you're doing for this family is remarkable, don't doubt it for a minute. Timmy just needs more time to see that."

"I appreciate your words, detective. However, any second wasted with me would be better spent finding him. His mother has suffered enough."

"No need to worry, friend. It won't take long to find him, no more than a couple of hours, even less if it goes well."

The man's eyes widened in shock. "Less than two hours? Have you found the perpetrator, or where he's being kept?"

"Patience, Mr. Wright, all will be revealed soon enough. Let's get out of here."

CAMDEN AND ALDERTON'S NOTES

Timmy Osborn: the kidnapped boy. He wrote the ransom note, was last seen yesterday by his mother.

Mrs. Osborn: the mother of the victim. Heard Timmy argue with Wright.

Mr. Wright: benefactor, old friend of the deceased husband and father.

Margaret Hardin: young woman who visits the family often, witness to the benefactor's first appearance. Is hiding something, involved in the ordeal?

Mr. Hardin: Margaret's father, has bad temper ! Good Great at surveillance.

REFLECTIONS

Alderton sprinted out of the door, ignoring Mr. Hardin's attempt to talk to him, paying him no attention whatsoever, and finally going to Miss Camden's rescue, from what must have been the closest thing to purgatory that can exist on earth. The policemen were still telling some story, this time he managed to hear enough words to realize that it pertained to a case they had worked on.

"Gentlemen, you'll have to pardon me, but I need to speak alone with my assistant for a minute, so I'll have to take her away, unfortunately."

"Oh, what a shame, we were getting to the best part!"

"Don't fret, Mr. Price, I'm sure we'll have the time to finish this delightful chat later," said she, before doing a quick bow, and speed walking away. As soon as the two were in the drawing room again, she exhaled loudly, as if she'd been holding her breath for some time. "Did you find out anything, Mr. Alderton?"

"Oh, yeah, the case is practically closed. How are you feeling, do you still have some vital force left in you?"

"I tuned out their voices as soon as they started telling their stories. You solved the case?"

"And they didn't notice?"

"Those type of people don't want an actual conversation, the important thing is looking like you're listening, moving the head and making some sounds from time to time is enough. May we go back to the disappearance?"

"Oh my, you'll have to teach me that trick soon, I always listen to everything, I don't know how to ignore voices, it becomes a bit much at times."

"I will if you hire me, sir," the woman responded with a nonchalant tone, while looking at three framed children's drawings hung on the wall. One depicted Mrs Osborn, sitting at a table; another had her in a natural scenery, with trees, grass, flowers and bugs; the last was of mother and child holding hands. She touched the ornate frames, of good manifacture by the looks of it.

"You're basically hired already, so that's a promise, right?"

"Oh," was all she responded with, turning around to face him again. There was a bout of silence, during which the two looked at each other. "That's, uh... great news... I'm happy to get the chance to earn an honest living and make a difference by your side, detective."

He smiled: that was the first time he had her caught off guard. "You make it sound nicer than it is, Miss Camden."

The woman smirked back. It was as delightful as he had imagined it when she had hidden her face during their first encounter. "Not to seem rude, but what about the case?"

"Of course, of course..." he mumbled, before starting to pace the room. "There's not much to it. The boy staged his own disappearance, and Miss Hardin has something to do with it. She doesn't appear keen on lying, I doubt she has been in on it since the beginning, she might have stumbled upon it by accident and been forced to participate through guilt. I believe she's torn between loyalty to the family, so to Timmy, and the respect she has for Mr. Wright. We need her to understand that those two things are actually the same, and that the best for everyone, boy included, is to tell us what she knows."

"Woah, wait, the child staged it? What makes you think so?"

"Well, the note was written by him, clearly, but it looks like he put a certain amount of effort in it. First off," and he raised one finger as he said the two words. "Try to find me a kidnapper who would make a child write a ransom note, and I'll have to wait forever, probably. Too slow and too messy, it doesn't work. Secondly," and he raised another finger. "No child who has been kidnapped and has learned how to write recently would be calm enough to put in so much effort. Hence, the note was meant to look like someone else, an adult, had written it."

"That makes sense. And the brooch in Mr Wright's bag could have been put there by Timmy himself yesterday, it is doubtful that the man was guarding it the whole time. The fight that the mother heard too could have been faked to make the man appear suspicious."

He stopped walking for a moment to point at her. "Exactly, very good Miss. If you keep it up I might have to promote you to equal partner soon."

"But where is Timmy now?"

"I don't think he has gotten far from here. He could even be somewhere hidden in the house, for all we know. He's small, he doesn't need much space. That's why I believe it would be unproductive to search for him ourselves. That's where Miss Hardin comes in, she will lead us to the truth, directly or not."

Miss Camden nodded in approval. "May I try talking to her?"

Alderton stopped again. "You think you can convince the young lady?"

"I believe I might have a better chance at it, with all due respect, detective. As a woman and as one who knows what it's like to take care of a child that is not your own."

"Younger cousin?"

"Younger cousins. Not very hard to figure out, is it?" And she smiled again.

The woman was much more serene and agreeable, without losing her strength of character. Surely, it was because of the less tragic circumstances, as well as her wanting to be hired – she needed to support her parents, after all. So what? Honey was not the less sweet if the seller lied about how they acquired it.

"Alright, then. Give it your best. I'll hold back Price, Dallas and the father for as long as I can."